Apr 13, 2009

You got a chance to see what a vampire/werewolf hybrid looked like in the movie Underworld. Now see one in real life. Sorta. British actor Michael Sheen has been cast as Aro in the Twilight sequel, New Moon.

Sheen, recently in the public eye thanks Frost/Nixon’s five Oscar nominations, has been idolized since 2003 by a more, shall we say...select crowd. This is due to his portrayal of the tragically sexy Lycan (werewolf) Lucian in the Underworld franchise. Over the weekend Variety reported he’d be switching teams to play the leader of the Volturi vampires.

Director of New Moon, Chris Weitz, told the Daily Mail he had aggressively pursued the actor for the role. “Michael’s role is so important because he’s the head of all vampires,” he said. “Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat.”

Two weeks ago, Jaimie Campbell Bower (Sweeney Todd) was cast as Aro’s fellow Volturi Caius. He told BBC News he hasn't read the books but that it's a great thing to be part of. "I doubt I'll get the same sort of adulation as Robert [Pattinson]- but it's always nice when people recognise you for your work," he said. Coincidentally enough, Bower's also been cast as a villain in another franchise Pattinson has been a part of - Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Back to the guy I only find attractive when he's playing fictional creatures. I'm extremely excited Sheen is going to be a vampire in New Moon, but I'm also pre-disturbing myself for finding Aro attractive. He so shouldn't be, but he will be and they've just gone and made me like this damn guilty pleasure of mine ten times more. I didn't think that was possible. Sheen will never want for sex a day in his life if he plays this right.

He definitely nails that "weird sexy" thing (like Sam Rockwell). I still haven't seen nor read Twilight yet so I have no presumptions about the character but he's certainly fit for vamping and can have some of my O- any day.